ZDF Upgrades to Snell Kahuna 360 Multi-format Switchers and Snell Sirius 840 Router 

Prominent German Broadcaster Chooses Snell Solutions to Provide Seamless Switching and Multi-format Outputting of Content

Snell announced that Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), Germany's national public television broadcaster, has deployed two Snell Kahuna 360 multi-format production switchers and a Snell Sirius 840 router as part of a technology upgrade for its two production studios in Düsseldorf and Mainz, Germany. The new Snell systems join 13 Snell Kahuna switchers that are in use in both outside broadcast and live studio environments, including Germany's leading news magazine program, "heute-journal."

A Snell customer since the mid-1990s, ZDF was one of the first broadcasters to use Snell conversion solutions. Today, ZDF employs Snell's state-of-the-art Alchemist Ph.C-HD motion-compensated standards converter in addition to numerous other Snell systems. One of the new Kahuna 360s has been installed in ZDF's regional studio in Düsseldorf to drive production for smaller talk shows and a daily news program. The other Kahuna 360 was purchased for ZDF's new STB-3 multi-purpose control room in Mainz, which can be linked to any ZDF studio and also the outdoor venue on the ZDF grounds where "Fernsehgarten," a popular Sunday morning entertainment program, is produced in the summer months. The Kahuna 360 at STB-3 also enables production of content in which camera feeds are transmitted from faraway locations and then edited and switched on site.

Live Production with Snell Kahuna

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Supplied via BFE Studio und Medien Systeme GmbH, the Sirius 840 router is the first from Snell's 800 Series to be installed at ZDF, providing 336 coaxial and fiber inputs, 576 coaxial and fiber outputs, and 140 multi-viewer outputs.

"We highly value our longtime partnership with ZDF, one of Europe's largest broadcasters. We also appreciate their feedback and suggestions that have helped us to refine our technology further so that it best suits the needs of our customers. In adopting Snell Kahuna 360 and Sirius 840 solutions, ZDF is ushering in a new era of flexibility, future-proof performance, and seamless multi-format broadcasting in its production infrastructure," said Stefan Geradts, Snell sales director for Central and Eastern Europe. "We look forward to supporting ZDF as it continues to adapt its operation to new and emerging formats and technologies."

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Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) is a public-service German television channel based in Mainz. With 3,600 employees plus a similar number of freelancers, around 900 types of production resources, and 30,000 stocked items at the ZDF broadcasting center in Mainz and 17 other sites in Germany, ZDF is one of Europe's largest broadcasters. ZDF is well-known for its original programming including "Heute," a newscast established in 1963, and "Wetten, dass. .?," an entertainment program launched in 1981 that has become the most successful Saturday television show in Europe. The network is run as an independent nonprofit agency established by joint contract between the German federal states.

Snell is a leading innovator in digital media technology, providing broadcasters and global media companies with a comprehensive range of solutions for creating, managing, and streamlining the distribution of content for today's multi-screen world. Specializing in TV Everywhere and Live TV applications, Snell provides the necessary tools to transition seamlessly and cost-effectively to 4K UHDTV, file-based, and 3Gbps operations, while enabling broadcasters to monetize and deliver their media assets across multiple distribution platforms. Headquartered in the U.K., Snell serves more than 2,000 broadcasters, post facilities, and global media companies in more than 100 countries through its worldwide team of sales and support personnel.

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